Posted on 08/07/2011 5:24:00 PM PDT by mylife
Yessir... that safe will look mighty grand.
In my den! LoL
Better deal than GT!!
I like the wood stock better too.
They’re new.
O-k, so here’s my story.
As I mentioned last week, I recently acquired my CCW permit. Since then it’s been burning a hole in my pocket. I do have a .38 Special derringer that I can use for summer carry because it fits in my pocket. I’ve been mainly carrying it in my car console. (My other handguns are 4” barrel service revolvers that I love but are not easily concealable.)
I’ve had a burning desire for an inexpensive carry weapon with a larger capacity that I can start carrying in the fall and winter months. To that end, I’ve been stopping at all of the local guns shops lately. Couldn’t find any shops that had any CZ’s. For that matter, most of the local gun shops seemed to be very low on any type of used handguns. (I strongly suspect that this is because of Iowa’s new “Shall Issue” that went into effect the first of the year. Thousands of Iowans have taken advantage of it.)
Yesterday, I decided to run out to my favorite private gun shop just north of our public range. It’s about a 40 minute drive. I’ve purchased from this guy before and he is not only a gunsmith but also a fellow Marine. As I was looking his wares over I mentioned that I was looking perhaps for a CZ or maybe even a Hi-Point C9 for concealed carry. He immediately proceeded to tell me that I should avoid a Hi-Point. He told me that in local carry classes the people with the Hi-Points had a very high rate of failures. He then showed me a Jimenez Arms Model JA-NINE. He said “this is three times the gun of a Hi-Point and it’s in the price range you’re talking”. He also told me that he would stand behind it and that JA has a life time warranty.
I went ahead and bought it.
Specifications:
-Model: JA Nine
-Height: 4.75 in.
-Thickness: 1.25 in.
-Weight: 30 Oz.
-Length: 6.625 in.
-Barrel Length: 3.75 in.
It’s a hefty gun, but I liked the feel in my hand. It has a red pin cocked indicator and a red pin loaded chamber indicator. 10-round magazines with last round slide hold open. The one I got also has the dual adjustable rear sight and the bright red front sight.
Well, I got my purchase home and thought it might be neat to do a little research on the internet since I had never heard of Jimenez Arms before. I did a Google search, and much to my horror, I found hundreds of negative comments and stories about them.
This company is a by-product of the old Bryco-Jennings firearms company. It’s kind of a long story but the company got sued because a 12 year old kid shot another kid with one of their pistols. A California jury awarded the wounded kid a $25 Million dollar award. Naturally, this pretty much destroyed the company. Paul Jimenez, an employee of the company, purchased the dies and tooling to manufacture some of the product line.
A more detailed history can be found on a number of sites and this Wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryco_Arms/Jennings_Firearms/Jimenez_Arms
I started reading horror story after horror story about cracked frames, broken extractors, bad sears, etc. etc. I even read a comment on a gun thread that said the machining was so poor that it looked like parts had been rough cut with a hack saw. Many also pointed out that it has a plastic trigger (which it does).
By now, I was feeling a little sick. Did I just waste a couple hundred bucks? So I decided to look myself. I disassembled the weapon and inspected the slide assembly and other machined components. Quite frankly, the machining and finish looks fine to me. I can see no jagged edges, scrapes, or burrs anywhere. The machining looks comparable to the Mil Spec guns I worked on in the Corps.
I finally came across a forum of guys that actually use and like them. I was dismayed to read that some of them recommended a “fluff and buff” of some of the components before taking it to the range. I think it’s just inherently wrong that a person should have to “fluff and buff” a new weapon. The darned thing should work right out of the box. So I decided it’s going to the range “as is”. One piece of advice I did follow is that they said cycling is more reliable with a heavier round than the factory recommended 115 grain. We stopped for ammo on the way to the range and the heaviest FMJ they had was 124 grain.
I’ve got to end this saga, so here’s what happened: I ran 130 rounds through it and it worked FLAWLESSLY. No jams, mis-feeds, FTF. Just straight up bang-bang-bang.
Since I had both of the kids and the wife with me, I didn’t really have the uninterrupted time to get the sights dialed in. (I will go alone next time in order to really focus on this.) However, it seems to shoot straight and group well. The recoil is very manageable.
I really only have one minor complaint and one major complaint.
The minor complaint is that it is heavy. But I knew that when I bought it. I think it will work well in a shoulder holster or in a belt holster slipped inside the inside breast pocket of my leather winter coat.
The major complaint is the magazines. They are very hard to load. I’m not the biggest guy, but I’m not a sissy either. It was all I could do to get 8 rounds crammed into the 10-round magazines. The springs are extremely stiff. I’m going to try to load both magazines with ten rounds each and store them that way to see if I can get the springs to compress a bit. This really was the only thing that kind of took away from the experience. If my thumbs and fingers had not gotten so sore, I would have run another hundred rounds through it.
So that’s my story. I’m still going to pick up a CZ at the right opportune time. But, so far, I really like this gun and I think it will serve well in the interim. Once I’ve acquired something lighter for carry, this would make a great car gun.
I wish I had a GI M1.
The Universal is OK, but an original would be better.
Get the wood stock and camo it.
What’s the best way to cammo one?
The shop next door to where I work does those vehicle wrap printed decal things. But they do small pieces too. I wonder if that would work, I really have no idea.
Gotta punch out early. Stuff to do.
So long, and thanks for all the thread.
Hmmm.
I could have filled you in on the jimenez saga though I am not familiar with that model.
Get the CZ when you get a chance and you can always sell the jimenez later.
That said, any gun is better than no gun.
I have an old raven 25 that’s from the same legacy of Ca Saturday night specials.
I bought it in the 80’s for $40 new
It still goes bang bang, and it got me out of a car jacking once way back in the day, it also dispatched a rattle snake once that showed up while I was taking a pee in the mountains.
That said, I would get rid of the Jimenez
Cyas later 50. Have a great week.
2111
I dont poo poo low end guns. They serve a purpose, not everyone can afford a high end gun.
But for less than $200 you can find a CZ82 which has more capacity, is lighter, more compact and functions like a dream.
Its only draw back is the ammo aint for sale at walmart (yet)
I wish the Star model BM was sill on the surplus market.
They were $149 wit 2 mags
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Critical%20Look%20at%20Star%20Model%20BM.htm
That would have fit your needs.
Yep. Like I said, I haven’t given up on the CZ. It’s just that the only places I’ve seen them are gun shows or occasionally on-line.
About the time the next gun show comes around, I could probably justify buying one.
Ammo was a consideration. I know that I can buy 9mm Luger over the counter most any time. Whereas I pretty much know that I’ll be buying 9x18 Mak on-line.
Doh, Krylon of course!!
Thanks my most knowledgeable friend.
Thanks to all who stopped by!
Have a great week yall!
I hope we survive the market this week.
I should have bought another case of 5.45x39 this week end while the price is still right.
I expect commodities to go wild.
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